Expansion of Fort Kinnaird site set to create 500 jobs

PLANS for a major expansion of Fort Kinnaird Retail Park which could see 500 jobs brought to Craigmillar have been unveiled.

Details of the 30 million project, which could see the park's former cinema site redeveloped and upmarket restaurants brought in, were lodged with the city council yesterday ahead of a public consultation with local residents.

Part of the expanded space will be used to provide a children's play area for the benefit of shoppers and a new mezzanine area will be built to allow existing retailers to expand.

And the developers have also pledged to improve the pedstrian link between the two parts of Fort Kinnaird - Fort Kinnaird and The Fort. While few details have been provided at this stage, it is understood the building of a bridge of overpass has not been ruled out.

Fort Kinnaird currently provides employment for around 1,300 people, which increases to around 1,800 in the run-up to Christmas. The new facilities would see the level of staff increased by more than a third.

The proposals include utilising land that was left unused when the Odeon cinema complex, Frankie and Benny's and Chiqito restaurants were demolished along with a ten-pin bowling alley in 2007.

SNP Councillor Mike Bridgman, who represents Portobello and Craigmillar, said that any new jobs created from the proposed development would be a much needed boost to the area.

He said: "I welcome anything that brings new jobs to the area. This goes some way to replacing the jobs that were lost when the cinema and the surrounding restaurants closed down."

Developers will meet with local residents as part of a community engagement exercise on Tuesday November 30, when there will be a public exhibition of the proposals at Fort Kinnaird.

Following the consultation with the local community, The Gibraltar Partnership, a joint venture between Hercules Unit Trust and the Crown Estate, aims to finalise the proposals and to submit a formal planning application to the city council in early 2011.

Dan Clark at British Land, the asset managers of Fort Kinnaird on behalf of the Gibraltar Partnership, said: "These proposals represent a considerable investment in Fort Kinnaird, offering important new job opportunities for the local community in south-east Edinburgh.

"We are keen to hear the views of the public about our proposals and ways in which they might be improved.

"I would encourage anyone interested to keep an eye out for further information about the community consultation over the coming weeks."